[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 107 (Thursday, June 22, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E878-E879]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          SUPPORTING H.R. 1871

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LEE M. ZELDIN

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 22, 2017

  Mr. ZELDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1871, the 
Property Tax Reduction Act, which is essential legislation to give our 
counties and taxpayers desperately needed fiscal relief and to help 
bring New York's Medicaid costs under control.
  Under current federal law, states are allowed to impose a portion of 
their state Medicaid funding responsibility onto local municipalities. 
My state, New York, chose to take advantage of this in an extreme 
sense. In 2015, for example, New York transferred more than $7.2 
billion of its non-federal Medicaid burden to counties. The burden New 
York has placed on its counties is greater than any other state in our 
country. The other 49 states combined only burden their counties with 
about $2.3 billion in Medicaid costs. This means that New York counties 
pay three times more for Medicaid than all other counties in the 
country combined. My home county, Suffolk, pays, on average, 
approximately a quarter billion dollars per year to the state for 
Medicaid, with $243,470,248, for example, being spent in 2015. 
Protecting our most vulnerable population is essential, and ensuring 
adequate funding for Medicaid programs is vital; however, New York's 
program has dangerously exploded.
  Our county governments around New York are in dire need of the fiscal 
relief provided through this legislation. There is no reason New York 
State cannot identify and achieve the $2.3 billion amount of efficiency 
necessary and available in the state Medicaid system, while at the same 
time making it clear that this can be achieved without harming any low 
income residents in need of coverage. If the state needs any advice on 
how to accomplish this, I am here to help. The state's conversion to 
Managed Long Term Care, gross overbilling of Medicaid into the hundreds 
of millions of dollars by some entities, eight and nine figure at a 
time handouts to 1199 SEIU to curry political favor, and many other 
issues result in a major problem that must be immediately confronted 
head on. Not only does New York State spend more money on Medicaid than 
Illinois, Texas and Florida combined, but it spends just about the same 
amount on Medicaid costs that Florida spends on its entire state budget 
despite having an almost identical sized population.
  H.R. 1871 would single handedly flip Suffolk County's recurring 
massive nine-figure budget deficits into budget surpluses. For 
residents of my district, this is a dream scenario that lifts our 
county out of a very dire annual budget crisis. If this bill became 
law, you could eliminate Suffolk's $50 million annual property tax levy 
completely, eliminate Suffolk's $150 million structural deficit, and 
have $50 million left over for combating the heroin and opioid 
epidemic, improving infrastructure, public works programs, 
environmental preservation and coastal erosion programs, upgraded and 
improved sewering or for some other purpose that county residents deems 
necessary.
  Passage of this bill is critical to providing necessary relief not 
only for Suffolk County, but many counties across New York. I urge all 
my colleagues to support this important measure, I thank Congressmen 
Chris Collins and John Faso for this proposal, and I look forward to 
getting this bill across the finish line.

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